Serendipity Literary Agency is hosting their annual writer’s Young Adult Discovery Competition. If writers are having trouble pitching ideas, no worries with this contest because they won’t even need a query! Seriously, only the first 250 words will be needed to submit.

YA literary agent Regina Brooks and her team will read all of the entries and determine the top 20 submissions. (There will be great prizes for the top winners!) These submissions will then be read by editors from many of the major publishing houses. Past judges include editors from Scholastic, Random House/Penguin, Little Brown, Candlewick, Bloomsbury, Simon and Schuster, JIMMY Patterson Books, and Abram Books. Judges will whittle the top 20 down to five winners, including a Grand Prize Winner.

Submissions open on November 1, 2018 at 12:01am (ET) and close on November 30, 2018 at 12:59pm (ET). Only one entry per person with a $15 entry fee. The contest is open to U.S. and Canada residents only.

For complete guidelines and submission rules, or to watch for their upcoming post about prizes, go here. As always, good luck!

Per the Philadelphia Writing Workshop website, this writing event (November 17, 2018) is a wonderful opportunity to get intense instruction over the course of one day, pitch a literary agent or editor (optional), get your questions answered, and more. Note that there are limited seats at the event (200 total). They will inform everyone directly on the website when seats are closed.

San Jose, California was selected to host the 76th Worldcon on August 16th through 20th 2018. Worldcon is an annual gathering of science fiction and fantasy fans, writers, artists, musicians, editors, publishers, critics, scientists, and other creators.

Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is an American author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery and thriller novels, and winner of Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement.

John Picacio is an American artist specializing in science fiction, fantasy and horror illustration. He has won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist twice!

There are over 300 authors, artists, musicians, editors, publishers, critics, and scientists attending. You’ll find David D. Levine, Peter S Beagle, and many more as featured participants! So, you never know who you’ll be having coffee with in the morning. Check out the complete list here.

If you want to go, rooms are filling up fast at nearby hotels. So, hurry if you plan on attending. As always, have fun and happy mingling and learning.

The Writer’s Digest Conference will be held in New York August 10-12, 2018 at the New York Hilton Midtown. The program is designed to give you a balanced education in both the craft and the business of being a writer—all in an encouraging, inspiring environment. Customize your experience by mixing-and-matching sessions among these core tracks: Craft, Getting Published, The Business of Being an Author, Platform & Promotion and Genre Studies. And this is the cool place where Pitchslam happens!

It’s time for another picture book twitter party using the hashtag #PBPitch! So, if you write or illustrate picture books, this is the event for you. This party will take place Thursday, June 21, 2018 from 8am-8pm EST. But remember, anyone can troll the feed, so be sure to do your research! There will be legitimate agents and editors popping in and out, including those that haven’t confirmed their attendance.

Be sure and only pitch once before 2pm and once after! (Yes, twice is all you get per manuscript!) If you’re an illustrator, you can attach an image to the pitch. For complete rules and proper hashtags, go here.

Agents and editors are taking live pitches on the SavvyAuthors blog! What you will need is a three line pitch (unless stated differently on their personal pitch page). Be sure to state the title, genre, word length, and your author name. Then post your pitch below that information. The format should look like this:

Agnes plays pretend in an old manor to keep her father’s memory alive and learns she must solve the murder of an eight-year-old ghost—daughter of Franz San Galli, the inventor of the radiator. Her non-believing brother wants her to grow up but she must convince him to acquire his help. After all, it’s not safe to play in secret passages and hidden rooms when a sinister specter threatens her.

Be sure to read the guidelines thoroughly before pitching. And don’t forget to research each editor/publisher and agent to make sure your manuscript fits their wish list. To pitch editors/publishers, go here. To pitch literary agents, click here. And don’t delay! The Pitchfest runs June 13 – 16, 2018.

Nothing soothes the writerly soul than a good twitter pitch party! This Thursday, June 7, 2018 is the infamous #PitMad founded by Brenda Drake, now ran by Managing director, Kellye Garrett, and a full committee (yeah, it’s grown that much!). This event will run between the hours of 8am-8pm (EDT). Common age category and genre hashtags are below.

The rules clearly state to only pitch THREE times per manuscript during the contest. Don’t break the rules and clog the feed! Also, please remember anyone can stalk the feed. So, do your research before submitting your manuscript. And as always, good luck!

SavvyAuthors is sponsoring Sweetheart Pitchfest from 9am February 14, 2018 through 11:59pm February 16, 2018. (My apologies, but the site doesn’t specify the time zone.) Their are confirmed agents and editors participating, but others could stop by the blog. Be sure and do research before submitting your book babies to requesting agents/editors!

Harlequin Romance [Mills & Boon True Love (UK) and Forever Romance (Aus/NZ)] is looking for new romance writers with their blog So You Think You Can Write. If you think you’ve got what it takes and have a polished romance manuscript ready for submission, this might be for you! Entries must be sent no later than Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2018. Even cooler, all submissions will receive feedback by the 21st of February! (I know you want to squeal, go ahead. I’ll wait.)

Submissions will be uploaded to Submittable. But before you send things off to the editors, be sure and read the series guidelines here. And as always, good luck!

Pikes Peak Writers Conference is an opportunity to get literary advise from a professional in the business or get invaluable feedback on your manuscript. The conference will be April 27-29, 2018 held in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS:

Jim Butcher(NYT Bestseller of The Dresden Files, which is also a TV Series.)